Night
by HappeeNoodleGrl
Summary: Hermione doesn't know what's wrong with her, no one does. She's afraid of hurting people... afraid of herself DMHG
1. Default Chapter

A/N: Whoo! My first fic. I'm so proud... anyway the plot for this story came to me when I was listening to Atreyu… sigh… what a great band. You should go buy the CD if you don't have it. Don't buy it now though. Read, Review, _then _go and buy the CD! On with the story!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own any Harry Potter people. I want to, but all I own is my box on the street corner. His name is Chester the Molester. J YAY CHESTER!!!!!!   
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            "Hermione, dear," her mother called out to her from inside the Victorian home. "It's dark. Why don't you come inside?"  
            "In a minute, mum," Hermione called back, taking a moment to pause and glance back at her mother's face in the doorway.  
            "Well, do be careful, will you."  
            Hermione ignored her mother's warning and took a step into the woods that decorated her backyard.  She paused again, this time to look up at the bright, full moon.     She shivered, pulling her jacket a little tighter against her body.  It was oddly cold for a summer evening, and it was foggy enough to blur the trees around her.  

            Hermione thought back to why she was searching in the woods. She had saw Crookshanks go running in there earlier, so not wanting him to get lost in the thick fog, she had went to look for him. Hermione continued walking, the whole time making sure she was still able to see the house from where she was.  She called out to her cat, cupping her hands around her mouth in hopes the sound would carry farther.  No response.  She tried again. This time she heard a rustle coming slightly to her left. She said his name again, whispering it this time. Another rustle.

            "There you are," she said, relieved, as she stepped over the bushes she heard the noise from. What she saw made her freeze.  It wasn't her cat. Oh no, it was _way_ to big to be her cat.

            The fog seemed to get thicker as Hermione looked out of the corner of her eyes for an escape.  Seeing there was none, she looked back at the creature as it drew to its full height.  She knew it could see her perfectly; she had no doubt about that.

            It's brilliant red eyes were the only source of light left as a dark ominous cloud hung itself over the moon. A small hissing noise emitted itself from the mouth of the beast in front of her. She gasped as the creature lunged at her, sending a horrible pain through her body.

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            The 16-year-old girl shot up from her bed, sweaty and gasping for air.  Letting out an irritated groan she got up and walked across her room to the bathroom.  It was Hermione Granger's second week of her sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  She sighed to herself, turned on the faucet to her bathroom sink and splashed some cold water on her face. 

            Hermione now shared living quarters with her fellow Gryffindor prefect, as well as the ones from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.  Dumbledore had told them earlier that year that it was to "create a bond between the houses after such hard times," as he had put it. Yes, the war was over, Voldemort was dead as possible, and the light side had won. (A/N: Sorry, but he needed to die. It didn't work with my story.)

            One problem: the school had it's own war.  Fights between the Slytherins and, well, all the other houses had become quite nasty after the war. Names like "Death Eater" and "Dirty Blood" were often exchanged in the hallway.

            As Hermione walked back to her room she thought about the dream she just had.  Ever since she came back to Hogwarts she had had the same dream at least twice a week. The strange thing was it always ended at the same part.

            As she flopped lazily back onto her bed she struggled to think. She knew one thing about her dream: it really happened. She found herself unaware of any of the events that took place during the summer. She just woke up one day in a bed in the Leaky Cauldron.  That was all she knew. Bits and pieces would sometimes flash before her eyes, never completing the puzzle.

            'I also know,' Hermione thought to herself, 'that I don't belong here. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'll find out.' She then drifted into a not-so-peaceful sleep.

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            The next morning Hermione woke up in extreme pain. She muttered to herself, her now very long and very bushy hair in her eyes.  Trying to get up she soon found the task impossible, due to her covers entangling her body. After a moment of struggling she rolled over and hit the floor with a loud thud.

            "Hermione," came Ron's deep voice from outside the door, "are you OK?"

            "Uh… yeah." She paused, realizing he was waiting for something. She let out a sigh.  "Come in, Ron," she said flatly.

"Bloody hell," he said once he opened the door and took in her horrible appearance.  "Need help?"

"Sure, if you don't mind."

Ron rested the plate he was holding on a stand by Hermione's bed then picked her up and promptly threw her onto her bed. 

"I got you breakfast," he looked at his friend's still struggling form.  "And it's Saturday," he beamed at her.

"Did you have to throw me?" Hermione finally managed to detangle herself from her sheets. Now for her hair. "I know it's Saturday."

"Sorry," Ron muttered, a bit red.

"Don't worry, and thanks for breakfast."

"No problem," he looked guilty.

"Ron, what did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie, I know that look."

He hesitated. "Well, Malfoy was starting again so I needed an excuse to get out of the room. Remember what Snape said about our argument last time? I'll lose my prefect badge. Mum will hate that." Ron shuttered.

"Do you want me to handle it?" 

"NO!… Uh, I mean, no… It's quite alright, Hermione." 

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Honestly, Hermione, we both know that you can't handle him, he's so powerful and your so, well, not"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

A very huffy Hermione glared, then barley able to see because of her mess of hair, she stumbled into her bathroom to get ready.

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Half an hour later, Hermione had her uniform on and her hair in a high ponytail. (Even though it still looked like she had a dead animal on her head.) She wondered out of her room and into the brightly lit common room. (A/N: use your imagination…. I don't feel like explaining.) Justin was there, reading by the fire. Ron was sulking in the corner. Draco was sitting with Pansy, who was all over him.

'What a pig,' Hermione thought, giving the two of them a scathing look.  Draco looked up from his position on the couch. "Great," Hermione muttered to herself out loud.

"Do you mind, Mudblood?" Draco regarded her coldly. "I don't enjoy being stared at."

"Don't call me that." She said it slowly, drawing out each word.

"What?" he asked her, pushing Pansy off of him and standing up off the couch. "Did you just tell me, _Draco Malfoy_, what t do?"

"Apparently."

He walked over to her, glaring. "I don't listen to filth like you. You are nothing do you hear me? _Nothing. _You don't even deserve to lick the dirt off my shoes. I would pray if I were you… having such a dirty bloodline must be so degrading."

Hermione just stood there, shocked for a moment. 'I didn't even do anything,' she thought. Her brain was screaming at her to make a witty comeback.

He laughed at her dropped jaw. "See, Granger? You can't handle me. You're too weak… and ugly."

Her face contorted and she started screaming. "What is this? Some kind of cult? I don't care what you think. I couldn't care any less about you. You're so disgusting. You try to play God, but you can't. You label people as weak, and target them for your own benefit. It makes me sick how you judge me as being weak, yet you are me. True strength comes from within, not how well you can boss others around. We were given this life to live, not to exist under some bullshit rules that you seem to think make a person worthy enough for you. And what prayers of yours were ever answered by degrading others? Spare me!  For all the people that you've hurt, and for the being you dishonor, your fall from grace will finally make me happy. And maybe when that happens you'll actually have an idea of what you're talking about!"  
            With that said, Hermione spun on her heel and started off to her room. Once she safely locked her door she jumped on her bead, buried her face in her pillow and screamed.

'I'll show Ron and Malfoy… I'll show them all,' Hermione thought, turning over onto her back. Then out loud she said, "Good-bye, old Hermione Granger," and got off her bed, grabbed her wand and set to work.

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A/N: How was it? Please let me know. It's my first fic and I don't know if I like it that much. All I want is two reviews TWO! And then I'll update. Remember to be nice J  I'll even give you people a present:

( )( )

(o.o)

  (  )0  ß BUNNY!!!! That's your gift. (sorry if it didn't come out right)


	2. Past Memories

Sirius Black11: Sorry I wasn't so clear. Hermione got upset because she thought that everyone was making fun of her (after all, Draco did call her ugly… and insulted her bloodline…. Plus he's a git) And she wants to show Ron that he can't be so over protective of her all the time. She wanted to show him he wasn't weak. I was gonna put it in this chapter, but I guess people would get confused. And thanks for the review. =D

A/N: 2 reviews. Hooray for me. And no flames. I'm so happy I've decided to update right now…. Obviously. Now for the story!

Disclaimer: I own Harry Potter, no really, I do…if anyone believes that then I feel sorry for you.

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 Hermione sat on her bed and started into her little looking glass, the curtains on her four-poster closed. She muttered to herself, complaining that the mirror was to dirty. She rubbed it with her uniform shirt, but alas, she couldn't get the blur effect off of it.

"Hermione?" Ron was calling her. "Can you hear me?"

"In a minute!" she called back sighing. She had been in her room since Saturday afternoon. It was now Monday morning. She didn't know how she managed to stay in there without being hungry. 'Must be the nerves of people's reactions' was her only explanation.

She glanced at the small mirror she held again. She regretted trying to "take action." After all, she was Hermione… quiet boring Hermione. Not anymore. She studied herself once again. She could hear Ron give an impatient sigh from the other side of the door. Saying that what Hermione did was drastic was the understatement of the year.

Her once bushy waist length hair was now just above her shoulders and straight. Also, she was so upset that in her rage she mixed up a spell and made her hair black instead of relaxing it. Of course, she tried to fix it, but it didn't work very well.

And that's where she was now. Just think about it… _the_ Hermione Granger had died her hair black and messed up a spell. Hell has frozen over. She had to admit, she quite liked it.

Ron had been calling her without her even noticing. She pulled back her four-poster curtains and waited for her eyes to adjust to the bright light streaming in through her window. Ron started knocking again.

"I'm coming," she said quite irritably. The knocking stopped. Nervous, Hermione opened the door. 

"Oh, thank goodness, Hermione. I thought tha-," he stopped in mid rant once he saw her hair.

"Ron?" asked Hermione in a small voice. His face was turning red. "What?" she said, pretending to be oblivious.

"What did you _do_," he cried. Over-protectiveness.

"Listen, Ron, it was an accident I swear!"

"Accident? _This_," he took a piece of her hair between two fingers, "is not an accident. Come on." He said, grabbing her arm and dragging her into the common room, out of the portrait and down to the Great Hall.

'I don't understand why he's like this,' Hermione thought. 'He needs to understand that I can do what I want without him breathing down my neck.'

They entered the Great Hall, Ron's grip still tight on her wrist. Ron soon spotted Harry and made there way over. They took a seat on either side of him. Ron waited a moment, but when Harry didn't say anything Ron spoke up.

"Harry," he stated calmly, but judging by his face he wasn't. 

"Yeah?" Harry was to busy eating his toast to look at either of his friends. Once he was done chewing he took a sip from his goblet. Before he could gulp it down Ron gently nudged Harry's head towards Hermione. Seeing her, his eyes widened and he turned and spit his juice all over a first year boy in front of him. The three ignored the boy, who was now crying.

"Hi, Harry," Hermione said, looking down. She prepared herself for the giant lecture.

"Uh…. I like it?" He sounded unsure. He faced forward again and then went back to filling up his goblet.

"What?" cried his two best friends, one astonished, one angry.

"It could be worse," Harry stated. He glanced at Ron. "Calm down." That was all that needed to be said. Ron was still mad and resulted to sulking saying how it was just a plot against him.

There was a slightly awkward silence. Hermione glanced around for something she could talk about. Nothing. The silence was broken by the little boy, named Eugene, who took this time to make a noise like a dying malnourished baby cow and yell, "He spit on me," over and over again. Due to all the other kids in the hall, no one really took any notice. 

Eugene picked up his spoon dunked it in his still steaming porridge and flung it at Harry. He ducked, and it hit a Ravenclaw girl in the back of her head. Thinking it was Harry, who was laughing quite hysterically she threw a pancake at his face. Someone yelled out food fight, but it was too late for that, since the hall was already filled with flying food. Before Hermione could get hit she rushed out of the Great Hall and headed towards her first class: double potions.

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'Stupid mudblood,' Draco thought to himself for the seventh time that day. 'She obviously doesn't know who she's dealing with.' He crossed his arms over his chest.

Draco was very cross. Not only did stupid Granger make a fool of him, but she had also gotten the last word.

"Draco," Pansy said, her annoying voice disturbing him. "What's wrong?"

            "Nothing," he spat, glaring at the pug-faced girl next to him.

            "Are you sure?" She said in her sickly sweet voice. She scooted over and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

            "Get away from me, you cow," he exclaimed, disgusted. "Bugger off!" He barley glanced at her as she moved away from him and pouted at Blaise, who tried to push her away.

            'Whore,' he thought. He was interrupted by a semi-loud crying sound coming from the Gryffindor table. His head snapped up and away from his food, towards the distraction. A little boy was screaming and pointing at Potter.

            'Probably just wants his autograph,' Draco thought, unable to hear what the first year actually said. His eyes strayed for a moment and fell on Hermione. He would have gasped, but that is very un-Malfoyish. 

            He studied her head for a moment before he concluded that it didn't look like a growth. 'At least it's better now,' he contemplated a moment before retracting that statement. He was once again disrupted. This time it was Potter. He was laughing at some girl with porridge in her hair. He watched the affair go on a bit longer, then decided he didn't want food on his oh-so-perfect self. He got up, making sure to glare at anyone even _thinking_ about throwing food at him. Once out of the hall (and still perfectly clean) he spotted Granger making her way onto the dungeons.

            'Hmm,' he thought, a smirk coming to his lips, 'this could be fun.'  
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            Hermione let out a sigh of relief as she realized she had made it out of the hall with only a little bit of porridge on her face. She wiped it off, and continued walking to potions.

            "It's cold down here." She shivered a little and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to offer some warmth to her body. As she continued walking she felt another presence behind her. Her heart was racing, but she didn't know why.

            'Calm down, Hermione, it's just a student… or a teacher.' She sped up her steps. '_Then why are you running?' _ the other part of her brain argued.

            She stopped. So did the footsteps. She knew that someone was defiantly following her. Pausing to think, all she heard was her shallow breathing. 

            '_Crookshanks,' _her mind was calling to her. _She saw a flash of rustling bushes obscure her eyes._

            'OK, Hermione,' she said to herself, 'that was weird.'

            She continued to walk at a fast pace, all the while aware of the footsteps attempting to match her every move. She could see the potions door now. She practically ran to it, thankful that she finally made it to her destination.  She reached for the handle and jingled it a little. Locked. She cursed to herself a bit, desperately trying to open the door. Even spells wouldn't work. She was beyond scared, but she felt no reason to be.

            She looked down the hallway. About twenty feet away was a boy. She saw everything accept his face, which was totally obscured in darkness. Hermione was confused. She could see everything from his perfectly shined shoes to the Slytherin emblem on his robes, but it was so dark. There was barley any lit torches in the corridor. The boy took a step forward. Hermione felt panic rise as the scene before her faded, replaced by a flashback of the night she was in the woods.

            _Hermione saw the creature lunging at her, and biting her neck, sending a horrible pain through her body as she collapsed on the floor. She felt it's sharp nails dig into her flesh as it pinned her down. Even though it was so close to her she could not see its face._

She let out a blood-curdling scream as the beast bit her again. She saw more of them advance passed her and toward her house. She heard a scream, not her own but her mother's.

            Hermione's dream faded, and she realized she was on the floor, crying and thrashing around. She looked up and saw Draco screaming at her, though she heard nothing besides her mother's scream. She saw his eyes widen as she felt another shock of pain go through her body. He drew his wand. More pain and her own scream, both in the past and present. The screams faded, the pain stopped and everything went black.

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A/N: Confused? If you are then you'll have to wait for the next chapter to see it from _Draco's_ point of view. Believe me, alone it won't make sense, (unless your me and know what's going on) but both sides of the story make it perfectly understandable…. Almost…. I hope. Well anyway, I only want one review this time, just to know that _someone_ actually reads this. Compliments, suggestions, questions? Anything? Go ahead… click the button…. You know you want to.


	3. Lots of Draco

A/N: Sorry that I haven't updated, but I didn't feel like writing. Lame excuse, I know, but if I'm not in a writing mood then my story will come out even crappier than it is now. =D And thank you to every single one of my reviewers. The reviews made me so happy. YAY!

Disclaimer: Roses are red, Violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter, Which means you cannot sue. (^-^)

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             ~*~ Draco~*~

            I walked down the hallway, following Granger's every move. I swear I could almost _hear_ her panicking. HA! She's so easy to scare. I looked around and noticed the darkness of the corridor. Well, at least she can't see me.

            She stopped. I stopped. I wish she would hurry up… breakfast should be ending soon. She started breathing heavily, taking deep, slow breaths. She stopped for a moment, then gave a horrible twitch then a shudder. Granger is very strange.

            She dismissed it, then walked on, faster this time. It was so hard to keep up with her. She kept changing her pace. I gave up trying to match her footsteps and stood in the middle of the passage. I couldn't read her expression, but I knew enough to know that the door to the potions room was locked and Granger was scared out of her mind.

            I was busy congratulating myself and was just about to walk away when she turned and faced me. I couldn't see her face, nothing at all. A nearby torch only allowed me to see her silhouette against the darkness. Her eyes… they started to glow… a very faint red. Curiously, I stepped forward.

            She twitched again, just like before and fell to the floor, clutching at her neck like she was choking. She screamed and I walked over to her. Stupid Granger, thinking she could fool a Malfoy. When I reached her, her eyes were tightly shut. She stopped screaming and I looked closer at her. Her robes were being torn, by what I didn't know. I looked down the hallway to see if anyone was coming. Good. Nothing.

            My attention was drawn back to her by another scream. I looked at her again and saw invisible hands claw at her arm again, drawing blood this time. She was flailing around by this time. And crying. Don't forget crying.

            I started calling her name, but she didn't acknowledge me. Finally, her eyes flung open, glowing a brighter red now. I was screaming at her now, not really caring if I drew any attention to me. She was scaring me. That's a first. 

            She was still screaming. Quite bothersome. I was in the middle of telling her that when a large gash formed itself on her face. Despite myself my eyes widened. I grabbed my wand, prepared to cast a healing charm on her… or at least a silencing charm. She screamed again, blood pouring from her cuts. 

            I couldn't think. I was just about to do something when I heard Snape's voice and many footsteps coming down the hall. Crap. Sodding crap. I turned to see students and a rather disgruntled looking Professor Snape coming down the hall.

            The noise stopped once they were in seeing distance. Everyone stared in horror at the sight before them. I could just imagine how wrong this looked. Me holding my wand in the air and Granger bleeding and unconscious at my feet.

            "What happened here," Snape demanded.

"Um… I don't know, sir." Sure, Draco. Great answer.

"Mr. Malfoy! What did you do to Miss Granger?" 

"Nothing," I sounded to calm for my own good. "Why would I do anything to her?" There was a pause.

"I know why," a voice made itself heard. The Weasel. " You and Hermione had a quarrel the other day in the common room. This is probably your sick version of revenge!" 

My head snapped over to him. He would have attacked me by now, judging the expression on his face, but Potter and some other Gryffindors were keeping a firm grip on him. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. I couldn't tell the truth, because face it… no one would believe me. Instead all I said was:

"I said I didn't do it." Brilliant Draco. You may as well said that Voldemort came and beat the crap out of Granger before he went off to find Potty… and seeing how he's dead that isn't possible. I thought about my last comment and realized that I didn't even believe me. Snape turned to the students in the corridor and broke the eerie silence.

 "You," he announced in a superior tone directed at the Slytherins and Gryffindors, " in the classroom. And you," he turned to me, " come with me. We're taking a trip to see the headmaster."

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            Stupid Weasel. If he didn't open his bloody mouth I could've gotten away with it. But no. He just had to go and say something to make him sound like the hero. I hate him.

            Snape and I walked up the stone steps to Dumbledore's office. Stupid greasy git. The whole way up here he kept saying that he would try to get me out of it. I hate him too. I hate all these people. Granger for basically having an aneurysm in the hallway. Snape for being greasy. Potty and Weasel for existing. And last but not least Dumbledore for always having that damn twinkle in his eye.

            That was the first thing I saw when the door to his office opened. The twinkle.  He smiled at me then at Snape. Needless to say my face remained cold. 

            "Please," he said in his aging voice, "have a seat." We did. "What brings you, Professor?" The twinkle told me he already knew.  
            "Well," started Snape. Even his voice was greasy. "Mr. Malfoy was caught cursing Miss Granger to the point of unconsciousness."  
            "I did nothing!" I couldn't help myself.  
            "Hold your tongue, boy." Stupid Snape. "As I was saying, headmaster, Mr. Malfoy had his wand raised and we heard Miss Granger screaming from down the hall. No one else was around. It couldn't have been anyone else."

            Yeah, that's really helping me get out of trouble. I knew Snape was useless.

            "Professor," Dumbledore stated calmly before folding his hands on his desk. "Leave us."

 "Of course, sir" Snape made a face at me before he left.

"Mr. Malfoy," my head turned to face him.

"Yes?"

"Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"Uh…" Yeah, not even this crackpot would believe me. I tried anyway. The whole thing. I didn't miss one detail. When I was finished he said:

"Ah, I see." … That's it? No laughing? No accusations? He must've seen my curious look because he continued. "I knew something like this would happen sooner or later.

"Sir?"  
            " I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy, but I cannot tell you what I know."

"Why not?"

"You and Miss Granger must figure it out on your own… consider it a punishment."

"But I didn't do anything!"

"You may have not attacked her, but you sure did provoke the… incident that she had." He had that twinkle in his eye. "You shall report to the hospital wing twice a day to visit Miss Granger and you are to bring her homework to her until she is able to attend classes. That is all."

            I gladly got up and left. Stupid bloke thinks he knows everything. Wait… how _did_ he know that I wasn't lying? Oh, well. I'll think about it in the common room.

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            "Granger…" Hermione barley heard the voice calling her. "GRANGER!"

            Hermione shot up when someone screamed in her ear. She immediately fell back on the bed due to a searing pain in her head and arms. 

            "Finally," said the drawling voice of Draco Malfoy. "You've been muttering to yourself like a nutter for the past fifteen minutes."

            "Where am I?"

            "Typical question." His face formed into a smirk. "You are in the Hospital Wing. Can you say hospital wing?" His voice was sarcastically gentle, as if talking to a child.  
            "Shut up." She winced and grabbed her head.  
            "Well you asked… anyway, here's your homework from the past few days." He pointed to a corner by her bed filled with books.  
            "The past few days? How long have I been out?"

            "Five days." He sounded bored.

            "Crap," Hermione muttered and rested her head against the pillow. Then she remembered. She remembered why she was in the hospital wing to begin with.

            She glanced down at her arms, which were covered in bandages. She could see blood leaking through near her wrist. Her hand moved up to her face and felt a scab forming on her right cheek.  She looked at Draco, who was looking at her oddly.

            "Granger?"

            "Yeah?"

            "Why were you screaming?"

            "What?"

            "In the corridor the other day. You were screaming, even when you opened your eyes. Why?"

            "Well," she stopped and thought for a moment, bringing the hospital comforter closer to her. "Before I passed out… I could see fine. But I couldn't hear. I guess you could say that I saw the present, but heard memories from the past."

            "OK?"

            "Why are you here?" She said this hesitantly, as if she was afraid of him.

            "It's my 'punishment' for 'provoking' your spasm."

            "I did not have a spasm!" He raised his eyebrows. "OK, so maybe it was, but still, what happened to me?"

            "I don't know… if you don't what makes you think I do?"  
            "Well where's Harry and Ron?"

            "Don't know."

            "Did they ask about me?"

            "Don't know."

            "Did they visit?"

            "Don't know."

            "Are you gay?"

"Don't know… wait. No!" 

"Well what did Dumbledore say?" Hermione asked, snickering.

"That douche? He knows more than we do but he won't tell us anything."

"Don't talk about him like that. He is a brilliant man!"

"Sure he is, and I'm Satan." He said this so sarcastically that Hermione winced. "He also said that we need to 'work together' to figure out what's wrong… but you obviously don't need my help since you think you know almost as much as Dumbledore."

Hermione only glared at him." You'll help, though, won't you?" She sounded hopeful.  
            "I don't think I have a choice."

He got up without another word and headed for the door. She watched him go, staring at the back of his head and hoping he'll fall down the stairs on his way to wherever he was going. He stopped abruptly. 

"Granger," He was talking to her, but he wouldn't turn around to face her.

"Yes?"

"I hope you know… that just because I'm helping you… it doesn't mean anything. I still hate you." Without waiting for a response he walked calmly out the door, letting it gently close behind him.  
            "Wouldn't have it any other way, Malfoy," she whispered to herself before turning and falling into a restless sleep. 

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A/N: Hooray for me! I like this chapter. It has a lot of Draco. And we all love him… don't deny it. You know you do. He's so sexy-full. Well I would really like it if you review. I'm not begging… just saying… I'll be your friend. Oh, and if you're still a little confused then it's ok… The next chapter (either that or the one after that) is gonna be _really_ strange. Want a hint? OK… Hermione does something to Harry. Hehe… that sounds wrong. But the only way to find out is to REVIEW!


	4. Attack

A/N: Hi everyone. Uh… I would've updated sooner but I've been having family problems, I think my friend hates me, and my best friend went to Florida for 3 weeks so I have no one to complain to. But anyway, thanks so much for the reviews. I feel so special right now… but it's like twelve in the morning here so ignore me if this chapter sucks. I just wanted to get it done before I forget what I'm planning. Enough ranting.

Disclaimer: I think you know  =(

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            _She blacked out. For how long she didn't know, but long enough to tell that _they_ were gone. She rolled over onto her stomach and winced as her cuts scraped the ground. She glanced around herself and found a nearby stump that she could use to push herself up. _

_            Once up, Hermione stumbled toward her house, which was still barley visible in the darkness. She made sure to avoid tree roots and things of that sort as she tentatively made her way back home. She was limping, which slowed her down, but she finally made it out of the woods. She was gasping for air and trying to ignore her body's screams of pain._

_            Taking a moment to observe her surroundings she noticed that the clouds had disappeared and the moon now lighted her way. It was haughtily quiet and one of the back windows to her house was shattered. Hermione walked up to that window, observing the large shards that still remained._

_            Deciding not to go through there she made her way towards the sliding glass door a few feet away. Locked. Her mother must've seen them coming and locked the door. She knew she shouldn't go in. She didn't want to. She was afraid of what she would find._

_            She had to. Hermione thought about her parents, whom were both still inside. At least she hoped they were. Feeling fatigued she struggled toward the window. Hermione collapsed grabbing for the windowpane but accidentally let her hand rest on the shard of glass._

_            She pulled back instantaneously and let out a small gasp as blood poured from her freshest wound. She tore a piece of cloth off her already tattered shirt and tried to stop the bleeding. Once satisfied she knocked out the rest of the shattered glass and rather ungracefully clambered into her fathers office._

*******************************

            ~*~Hermione~*~

            My eyes snapped open and I gasped in pain. I glanced down at the source only to see blood gushing from my hand. Great. Something else caught my attention. The position I was in was strange. My leg was halfway out a broken window, my own doing of course, and I was in the middle of hoisting myself out. 

            I climbed, or fell… which ever you prefer, back into wherever I was. Wait. Where was I? I stood up and took a long good look around the corridor. Something is wrong about that. Um… Oh yes, I remember now! I'm not aloud out of the hospital wing.

            I took a look out the window. Oh my God. I was about to propel myself out of a sixth story window. How did I get up here? Sleepwalking? That could be it. But Hermione Granger does not sleepwalk. At all.

            But how else would I explain breaking out of the hospital wing and traveling four floors upwards only to break a window and (if seen from someone else) try to kill myself? I sunk down the wall, bringing my knees close to my chest and resting my head on them. You ever get that feeling like someone's watching you? Yea… that's how I feel now. I could feel eyes on me, trying to tell me something.

            Then I heard cackling. It ruined the moment. I felt the eyes disappear and the secret messages they were trying to send me went along with them. Crap. That infernal noise…it's very bothersome. I know that laugh. I know it, but I can't concentrate. I'm too hungry.

            "Well what is this? A wee student out in the darkest hours of the night? Oh, a _prefect _none the less." Ah, there we go. Peeves.

            "Huh?" It was all I could say. I focused on him for a minute. Too hungry. I haven't eaten in days.

            "Potty Wee Potter's little friend, aren't ya?" He cackled again at the look on my face as he started doing cartwheels around my head.

            "Do you mind!?"

            "Naughty, Naughty. Raising your voice. You could wake up the students. Was that your goal? It didn't work."

            "GO AWAY!" 

            "I guess it was your goal. Let me help." He cleared his throat.  
            "Peeves… I'm warning you. Don't do it."  I felt the eyes watching me again. Peeves opened his mouth and inhaled deeply, obviously getting ready to scream at the top of his lungs.

            "THERE ONCE WAS A MAN NAMED…"

            That was all he got out. I don't know what made me do it but I attacked him. I couldn't help it. I didn't want to get in trouble. Besides, he was right in front of my face. He _asked_ for it.

            He went flying into a wall, literally. I guess he went to go complain to the Bloody Baron. I let out a laugh. An evil one if I do say so myself. Then something else caught my eye. Can't anyone be alone in the middle of the night anymore? Really…

            "What the bloody hell was that?" Draco Malfoy spoke with a hint of fear in his voice. Fear? What? What did I do?

*******************************

            ~*~Draco~*~

            I hate being a prefect. I absolutely cannot stand it. I would have turned down the position if it weren't for Luscious. (A/N: Yes I know it's not spelled right. Luscious is so much better.)  Not like it matters anymore. That stupid git is still in Azkaban. That was the only thing Potty was good for. Stupid Potty and his stupid scar and his stupid friends. Honestly, if you were that close to death so many times don't you think that it's a sign that you should just give up and die? I hate him… and Weasel and Mudblood. 

            Speaking of the Mudblood, it was her turn to do rounds tonight. But no… be a little gimp and pass out… then leave Draco to do all the work. It's ok, I don't mind. And that's where I am now. Patrolling the castle at one in the morning. Why me? 

It's not like anyone is stupid enough to come out at this hour. With the exception of Potty. Not unless you want detention with Snape. That is truly horrible. I think I'll just have one more go around the castle before I go back to my dorm.

I was on the sixth floor when I heard the unmistakable laughter of Peeves the Poltergeist. I dismissed it and started to walk the opposite way as to avoid trouble. Then I heard her… Granger.

But I couldn't have been Granger. I saw her this morning in the hospital wing. She was all bloodied up. There is no _way_ Madame Pomfrey would allow her out, especially at this hour. I'll check it out, just incase.

Sure enough, as I got closer the voices grew louder and I could see Granger and Peeves quite clearly. I stopped once I was in perfect seeing distance. Peeves was just getting ready to scream. Like a normal person would have done I put my hands over my ears and awaited the ranting. I kept my eyes open however, and saw that same red glow starting to form in Granger's eyes.

What I saw next shocked even me to the point of fear. Peeves was leaning close to Granger and screaming in her face. Granger let out what sounded like a growl and in one swift movement jumped up from her spot on the floor and violently swung a clenched fist at Peeves. Her hand connected with his head and he went flying across the corridor and through the wall. Then Granger started laughing. Laughing like a mad woman!

It was then I noticed that the bandages she had on just this morning were gone. The only thing to even distinguish that she had been hurt was the small scars on her arms. My eyes traveled down to her hand, which was covered in blood. Further down at her feet was glass. I didn't notice it before, but know the broken window behind her was dreadfully obvious. She stopped laughing and snapped her head towards me. Her expression was cold like mine usually is and the red glow was still there.

" What the bloody hell was that?" I tried to hide the confusion and fear, but I don't think it worked. She stared at me for a moment, the glow slowly dissolving from her eyes along with the coldness.

"Huh?" Wow… Granger is pretty dumb.

"You… you attacked Peeves."

"So?"

"What's wrong with you? You can't just go around growling and taking peoples heads off!"

"What are you talking about? I did nothing of the sort." 

"Uh, yeah you did."

"I certainly did not!" She looked highly offended, if not a bit disturbed. It was then that it occurred to me she really didn't know what she did. She continued when she saw the look on my face. "All I did was push him out of my way."

"Sure." She was about to retort but I changed the subject. "What happened to the window?"

"Uh…" She glanced at it then at her hand. Her reply was unsure. "I broke it."

"Why?"

"Sleepwalking."

"Ha! You're such a loser, Granger!"

"Shut up!"

"Hey, I could get you into trouble for being out after hours."

Her face fell. "Malfoy, can you walk me back to the hospital wing?"

"And why would I do that?"

"So I won't get in trouble.  Plus if you don't I'll tell people that you attacked me."

"I did not attack you."

"I know that, and you know that, but do you think the Professors know that?" She had me there. Damn.

"Fine." We started walking. The walk was long… and boring. Granger is a very boring person. Besides that I felt like we were being watched. Once on the second floor I sped up my pace. The faster I get rid of Granger the better.

We both stopped as we neared the hospital doors. One of the doors was hanging by the bottom hinge. We sprinted up to the double doors and tried to open the door that wasn't broken. It was no use. That door was locked. 

"How about pushing the broken one down?" It was a brilliant suggestion, or at least I thought so, seeing as how I came up with it.

"Don't be stupid," she said while giving me a warning look. "It'll make too much noise. Besides, this gap is big enough for us to go through."

"I knew that," I said while studying the door. She was right. Because of the broken hinge the door was tilted backwards, allowing us to climb through. She went first. Then me. Before I got a chance to look around I looked at Granger. She was staring in horror at the scene before her. I turned my head slowly. I was afraid of what I would see. I almost fell over at the sight before my eyes.

A few of the bed curtains were torn with their sheets scattered all over the floor. Bottles that were placed by Granger's bed stand were now shattered and colors of all kinds were splayed on the floor and walls. On her bed were the bloody and torn bandages that she had had on earlier. In the middle of it all was Madame Pomfrey, her body in an unnatural position and a medicine tray broken by her side.

"Granger," my voice was hesitant and I didn't take my eyes off of the unmoving nurse, " why do I have a feeling that this wasn't a break in?"

"Because…" There was a pause in which the tension was so thick I wanted to scream. "Because I think that it was me. _I _ did this."

*******************************

A/N: Well? Do you like it? I've decided to write in other people's P.O.V because it's just so easier that way. Another thing: I put Peeves in here because he hardly ever gets credit. I just thought he deserved a little attention. Do you agree? And BTW, incase you don't get it Hermione doesn't realize when she gets out of control. So… yeah. Comments? Suggestions? I take them all! Thanks. And I don't know the next time I'll update… During Holiday break, though. "Family problems." Hope you understand. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!


	5. A New Revelation

A/N: Hello! I'm going to start responding to reviews. Aren't you guys proud? Well, hope you enjoy this chapter.  Oh, one more thing. This chapter is dedicated to xoKiera… my most faithful reviewer!

**Laura buzali:** well you could do that, but you did the smart thing. And besides, if everyone did that then there would be no story. Lol. =)

**Hermione-amy: **this was perhaps the best review I have ever gotten. It made me feel all special and important. It motivated me to write. Thank you so much.

**XoKiera: **Thanks happy holidays to you, too. You know, I always look forward to your reviews. So what better way to thank you for reviewing more than anyone else by giving you a chapter? … I would give you something else but I can't… =(

Disclaimer: Sigh. I own the plot… yeah….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

~*~Draco~*~

          I paused for a moment at this new information. I felt her eyes staring at me, waiting for me to be my usual self and take control. But I couldn't. Not this time. My brain was screaming at me to move, to leave Granger here to take all the blame. Her eyes left me and I saw her move toward the still unmoving nurse. 

          "How do you know?" I regained my composure. I'm surprised I lost it… but really, you had to see that old hag. It was disgusting.

          "Huh?" 

          "How do you know it was you?" She was kneeling next to Madame Pomfrey now, examining her form.

          "I don't know. I just have a feeling I did this." She looked up at me when she said this. Her voice filled with regret and sorrow. If she thinks I feel bad for her than she's crazy…

          "Well that makes no sense at all." I started to back towards the door. Granger was probably just crazy. She had been acting quite odd lately.

          "Where are you going?" The sorrow was gone and fear was in its place. She stood up when I took another step backwards.

          "To the Slytherin common room."

          "You can't leave me here with her!" She pointed at the nurse as her emotions changed once again. This time it was anger. Her eyes had that faint red tint to them. Ok, now I'm definitely leaving.

          I doubled my pace and turned around when I felt myself press into the door. I heard her breathing became more rapid. Wow. Granger must have PMS. She's being very moody.

          "You aren't going anywhere." Granger came up behind me and pulled me backwards. I was just about to escape, too. She pulled me back with such force that I fell and slid back a couple of feet. I looked up at her. Her eyes were glowing freely by now. They lit the room and cast an eerie shadow over her face. 

          There was a moan from behind me. It was then I realized I had crashed into something when I slid backwards. I looked behind me then at Granger. She had obviously heard it too. The glow faded and she gaped at me. 

          "Was that you?"

          "No… it was her." I pointed behind me and at Madame Pomfrey. Granger stared at me like I was stupid. She rushed over and pushed me out of the way as so she can tend to the nurse.

          "Well?" She looked at me in an annoyed way. "What are you waiting for?"

          "What the bloody hell are you talking about?"

          "Go tell Professor Dumbledore!"

"No, you do it!" Yeah, like _I_ was going to take orders from _her_.

          "You're very thick… You should know that I don't have my prefect badge with me. I can't go into the halls. If I get caught then I'll have no excuse."  
          I said nothing. I just stepped through the broken door and made my way down to the headmaster's office. Stupid Granger. That's the second time today she has made me feel like an idiot. But I'll have my revenge. I swear it. After a while I started talking to myself. I was so caught up in it that I didn't see the person step out from the gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office.

          "Mr. Malfoy?"

          "Huh?" It was Dumbledore. "Oh, yes, sir?"

          "Are they still there?"

          "Are who still where?" How does he expect me to know what he's going on about? For all I know he could be talking about the Emperor of Japan and his secret service. (A/N: Does he even have a secret service? Oh, BTW the Emperor of Japan's birthday was December 23… Happy Birthday!)

          "Miss Granger and Poppy."

          "Umm, yes?" How does he know everything? My God!

          "Good." With that said he briskly walked back the way I came while beckoning for me to follow. It was silent for a moment.

          "Sir? Do you know something that we don't?" The answer was obvious. I just needed reinforcement. 

          "Yes, Mr. Malfoy. Perhaps more than I should."

          "Then why can't you stop her?! She's raving mad!" Maybe I shouldn't have said that. I could have at least said it nicer. I say this because he looked at me for a moment, his trademark twinkle nowhere in sight.

          "She is not mad, Mr. Malfoy. She is merely confused about her past, present and future." Riiight… that's not mad.

          "What happened in her past?" I sounded curious, with a little concern. You would have to look deeply to see that was false emotions. What I really wanted was blackmail information. He must've seen past me however, because his reply wasn't exactly what I wanted.

          "If she wishes to tell you she may."

          "But Professor… you certainly must know that she is a danger to the school."

          "Certainly."

          "Then why keep her here? Why not kick her out?"

          "If I did then her life would be in danger. Even more so than it is now."

          "Do you know all of her story, Professor? What happened to her over the summer, I mean."

          "Yes. I know a fair share of it."

          "Then why not tell her so we won't be in danger?" I couldn't help it. This man holds very valuable information. 

          "Do you remember, Mr. Malfoy, what I told you last week? I said to you that Miss Granger must find out on her own."

          "Yes, I know that. But why?" We were close to the hospital wing doors, so my words were rushed.

He sighed and slowed his pace a little bit. "She must find out gradually, Mr. Malfoy. If I tell her now, when she knows so little, then she may take drastic measures."

"Drastic measures?"

"Indeed. She may try to control what is happening to her. Whether she tries to fight by potion or sheer inner strength I cannot allow her to do that."

"Why, sir?"

"If she does then I'm afraid we will lose her forever."

"What do you mean?" We were now at the hospital wing door, so the Professor lowered his voice considerably.

          "No matter how much she tries to fight it, it is unavoidable. Miss Granger would eventually break, and all the anger she held inside would be let loose. If that happens she will no longer have control of her body or mind." His voice cheered up as he added, "but that won't happen to her unless she finds out too quickly. So you won't mention anything, will you, Mr. Malfoy?"

          He didn't wait for my reply. I take it that wasn't meant to be a question. Wait a minute… was I just threatened by _Dumbledore_? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

          ~*~Hermione~*~

I could hear voices outside the door. Probably Malfoy with Professor Dumbledore. For a moment I didn't think he would actually go through with it. At least he's good for something… wait, no he isn't.

          The voices were right outside the door but I couldn't hear what they were saying. I was getting nervous. What if Malfoy told? I could just imagine all the trouble I'd be in. I took my mind off it for a moment to study Madame Pomfrey. 

It looked like she had been poisoned. I could tell because her pupils were dilated. If she was, it was forced down judging by her slightly swollen throat. And it was possible that it was me. My evidence? Well, for one thing the door is locked from the inside _and _out. Another was I had access to all the potion ingredients. Making a poison would be easy for me. She wasn't dead, though. My last case of evidence: She had a weak pulse. 

          Both the Professor and Malfoy entered the room and disrupted me from my thoughts. The Professor looked a little disappointed. Malfoy just looked angry. I sat by the nurse for a minute before standing and trying to say something on my behalf.

          "Professor… well, umm, you see what happened was…"

          "There is no need Miss Granger. I already know."

          "Oh, well err, I think she was poisoned, sir."

          "Really? Well then let me have a look."

          Malfoy scoffed and said, "There is no _way_ that she was poisoned. Look at the way she's positioned!"

          Professor Dumbledore walked over to me and examined the body closer. He gently lifted one of her eyelids before letting out a sigh.

          "I am afraid that Miss Granger is right. Nothing to worry about. The potion was a weak one. Poppy should recover in a couple of days. A week at the most. That is all. I will tend to her now."

          "What about her punishment!?" Malfoy cried out, astonished.

          Professor Dumbledore looked at me then stated, "All is forgiven. We must keep in mind that Miss Granger wasn't in the right head, were you?"

          "No, sir."

          "Good. That is all." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~*~Draco~*~

          "_We must keep in mind that Miss Granger wasn't in the right head_," I mimicked as soon as we were out of hearing distance from the door. "More like not right in the head if you ask me."

          "Well no one asked you!" Granger needs to calm down… really.

          "Uh-huh. So, how was your summer?" I made it seem casual, as if I was really interested. Granger seemed thoughtful for a moment.

          "I don't really remember."

          "Well what good are you, then?" I said this under my breath as so she wouldn't hear me.

          "What was that?"

          "Nothing."

          "I know you said something." She sounded irritated.

          "You're just hearing things. Hey, what do you know… You need to go up the stairs, but I'm going down. What a shame."

          The last two sentences came out quickly and I almost ran away from her. Her eyes were getting that all too familiar glow about them. I feel bad for the poor sucker that stays around to see that. Not to mention she's all PMS-like. I just realized that on normal nights I would be waking up right now. Great. Another five hours of my life dedicated to Hermione Granger. And just think of all the fun we'll have when I see her in breakfast about an hour from now… I despise life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

A/N: Hooray! Another chapter. I may not be able to update the rest of vacation due to a massive 6-page report my crappy social studies teacher gave out before break. I'll try though. I have to study for the ELA exam, too. Not to mention the experimental part of the Earth Science Regents Exam. ARGH! All this studying is too much for a thirteen year old (did I ever mention that?) Once again thanks to my reviewers. Oh, just a thought did anyone ever see the "special awards"? That thing is so funny. I was just watching it and they had old people racing in wheelchairs, the best man-boobs and even a competition where people had to hump some guy's leg. HAHAHA! It was the best. Anyway, I had a brilliant idea for this story. I have a lot of chapters planned. Except I don't know which way I'm leaning towards… Happy or Not-So-Happy ending. You decide! Just click the button… o.0


	6. What the hell?

A/N: I actually wrote this a week ago. I was going to update but my stupid science teacher gave us this stupid crap project. I have to find something I want to invent by tomorrow… any ideas?

**Princess19: **Thanks… things around here aren't that bad anymore. I'll try to write faster but sometimes I just don't have any time, you know?

**Paprika90:** Thanks… reports suck, don't they? I spent 12 hours typing mine. =(  that's really sad.

**Sarah:** I re-wrote that chapter at least three times! I didn't really like it that much. I've got the ending pretty much worked out. It's HAPPY!

**Syaoronsangel: **MaybeI am skitzo… and maybe you ARE my other half. Who knows? I don't get it sometimes either… I'm pathetic. Expect an e-mail update!

**KeWIGaL8tH:** Thank you. You should love my story. (j/k) I love it too (.)

**XoKiera: **You're welcome.I'm just such a nice person. (not) Just letting you know now… Hermione finds out what's wrong with her soon. Maybe in about 8 chapters, but doesn't find out what happened until much later. I'm kinda doing what you suggested with the ending. I don't know, I'm still a little confused.

Disclaimer: This is the last one and qualifies for the whole story… I don't own anything. Only the plot. I don't even own my inspiration. =(

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~*~Draco~*~

           I woke up in a rather grumpy mood. I had only gotten half an hour of sleep and was forced to use the highly uncomfortable couch in the Slytherin common room. Why? Because that idiotic mudblood was about to go spastic. There was no _way_ I'd follow her back to the prefect dorms when she was like that.

          I was in the middle of cheering myself up when the massive amount of fat that is Pansy Parkinson plopped herself on my legs. Can't one thing go right today?

          "Draco? Did you sleep down here so you can walk me to breakfast?"

          "Err... no"

          "Don't be so naive!" She said as she got off me and pulled me up dragged and towards the portrait… literally.

          "No! I don't want to go!" I screamed at her. All she did was give me a disapproving glance. What was I to do? I didn't have my full strength due to lack of sleep. Not to mention I couldn't move my legs……

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~*~Hermione~*~

I was sitting in the Great Hall and looking for the perfect pieces of bacon. I was starving. I only found three really good pieces before I was interrupted by Harry's odd glance.  
          "What's wrong, Harry?"

"Hermione… you do know that all of those pieces of bacon you have are practically raw, don't you?"

"Nonsense." I said before glancing down at a piece in my hand. Wait. It is raw! Eww! I put it back on my plate and pushed it away from me.

"Aren't you gonna eat?" asked a curious Ron, who currently had his mouth filled with some type of bread.

"No. I'm not hungry." In truth I was starving. The food just looked, well, _bad_. How can they eat that?

The rest of our time in the Great Hall was normal except for the slight disturbance of Malfoy being dragged in by Parkinson, who held him tightly by his forearm. 

"What's our first class today?" Asked Harry when we reached the hallway outside the doors.

Ron gave a slight shrug and looked at me. Sighing, I replied, "Care of Magical Creatures."

"Good," said Harry. "It'll be nice to see Hagrid again."

We made our way out of the Entrance Hall and across the slightly wet grass. I glanced up at the sky. Hmm… cloudy. Looks like rain. I could hear Harry and Ron talking, but I didn't really listen. I felt eyes on me, just like last night. When we reached Hagrid he had a large grin on his face and a slight glow in his eye.

"Hullo, Hagrid! What do you have planned today?" I asked.

" Can't tell yer tha'… It's a surprise." His grin only widened. "Gather 'round!" he called to the rest of Gryffindor, as well as Slytherin. "Today I'm gonna show yer…" he paused for effect. " Jarveys!"

I was the only one laughing. Murmuring came from the people around me. Obviously, no one knew what a Jarvey was. Hagrid's smile faded.

"Does anyone know what a Jarvey is?" My hand shot into the air. "Yes, Hermione?"

"A Jarvey is a larger, feistier version of a ferret, which---" I was cut off by an enormous amount of laughter. The smile returned to Hagrid's face as all the Gryffindors were clutching their sides in laughter. They obviously remembered Malfoy's little incident with Professor Moody a couple years ago.

Hagrid was chuckling himself as he passed out the Jarveys from a large box on his left. Everyone got one except for Malfoy. I don't think he wanted one anyway. Hagrid was about to put away the box when he pulled one last Jarvey out and handed it to Malfoy.

"I saved this one fer ya," Hagrid said with a vast smile. He handed Malfoy a snowy white ferret with pale eyes. His shocked and angered face emitted more bursts of laughter from the Gryffindors.

When the laughter finally ended and we all settled into groups, Harry, Ron and I were still reminiscing about the priceless moment that just happened while Hagrid went to go make us some tea.

"Did you see his face?" Ron burst out laughing again. "Gold! Pure Gold," he shrieked, squeezing his Jarvey a bit too hard. "Ow! Bloody thing bit me!" 

People were staring. Ron flailed his hand around only to have the Jarvey bite harder into his skin. He stopped thrashing and grabbed the Jarvey by its tail, which let out a squeak, thus letting go of Ron. He still had the poor Jarvey by his tail and was now swinging it around like a lasso. He let it go and it flew through the air and into the box Hagrid had been carrying with a loud "thwack'.

"Ron! That was a terrible thing to do!"

"Get over it, Hermione. I think it did more damage to me than I did to it. Look, I'm bleeding." He held up his hand to show me his wound.  
          "It's not that bad…"

"Yes it is." He started to wail in pain, earning more stares.

"Let me see," I said. 

I grabbed his hand and inspected it. It didn't look like it would get an infection. It was bleeding a lot, though. Suddenly I could feel the eyes on my back. They were chilling, cold. I looked behind me and into the Forbidden Forest. 

Then I caught my first sight of them. They were an unnerving red color that seemed to pour into me. They narrowed a bit, trying to tell me something. I looked around the class for a moment, seeing if there was anyone else the eyes could be looking at. My eyes met Malfoy's, who was right next to our group. He let out a small gasp and scooted a couple feet away from me.

          I heard my name being called by Ron. I didn't look at him, just at his hand. He tried to pull away but I tightened my grip and brought it closer to my face to stare deeply at it for a moment. Out of nowhere I felt myself lower my head and attach my mouth over the bloody gash in his hand.

          "Hermione!" Harry screamed. I heard everyone around me let out a little cry of shock. I didn't care. I needed this.

          Ron tried to pull away again as I lapped and sucked at the blood still forming on his hand. My grip tightened and I bit down, drawing more blood. Harry and someone else, I don't know who, were pulling on my robe. More people joined them when I wouldn't budge.

Ron was screaming now. It was so bad even some Slytherin guys were helping to pry my hand off Ron's wrist. I scarcely heard Hagrid's voice as I was pulled away from Ron by a strong arm.  
          "What's gotten into ya, Hermione?" Hagrid asked me curiously.

          I didn't answer, just stared at my surroundings as I felt my need fade away. Ron was nursing his hand, which was far worse now. Harry was panting from pulling on me so hard, as were several others. The girls just looked scared and started to back away when I looked at them.

          "Someone take Hermione 'ere to her dorm… she needs 'er rest." Hagrid looked at me sympathetically. "You," he said pointing at Malfoy, who was hidden behind a tree, "take her there."

          "Nooooo way… I'm not taking her anywhere. I would rather take Weasel to the hospital wing."

          "Yer takin' her. Tha's final! Yer didn't do anythin' anyway… jus' sat there all period."

          Grumbling, Malfoy walked over, grabbed my arm, and proceeded to drag me away. It was silent until we got to the castle.

          "What was that?" he asked me.

          "I don't know."

          "That's your answer to everything, isn't it?"

"No." I felt tears starting to come to my eyes when I realized how big my mistake was. I had just attacked my best friend. Malfoy didn't notice. He just kept ranting.

"Are you crying?" he said looking at me after a while.

"No." It was almost inaudible. I wiped my eyes, trying not to make it obvious.

"You have no idea what really happens, do you?"

          "What?"

          "When you lose control like that…"

          " Not usually. This time I knew. But I couldn't stop, I didn't want to."

"Hey, Granger?"

          "Yes?"

          "Get angry."

          "What the hell is that about?"

          "I'm trying to test something here! Just get bloody angry!"

          "Don't yell at me! I'm not gonna get angry!"

          "Just like a mudblood to disobey those that are superior."

          "What did you say!?" I felt color rising to my face.

          I was about to say something else when Malfoy looked at me, sighed, and took a mirror from his pocket. He held it to my face. I stared into it and saw those eyes. Those same eyes that I had saw earlier. But they were _mine._

          "See?" he questioned. "Your eyes turn red when you're angry or annoyed."

          "But I wasn't angry before. There's more to it than that."

          "Like?"

          "Well I saw these freaky eyes… like mine. It was the second time I saw them. They're trying to tell me something…"

          "Well if you find out what happened over the summer then maybe you'll know what's wrong with you."

          "Maybe." We reached the portrait hole to the common room.

          "Hey, Malfoy?" I asked. Too late. He was gone. "Thanks."

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A/N: I don't know the next time I'll update. I have ELA testing on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then my birthday is Thursday and I'm going out. Plus I got sick and I don't feel like doing anything. BTW, if you want an e-mail letting you know I updated then let me know.

            
  
  
          


	7. So very wrong

A/N: I'm sorry you guys! I had midterms…eww.  Review responses are at the bottom. Let me know if you want an e-mail update notice!!!!!

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          ~*~Hermione~*~

          A few hours after the _incident_ Justin Fich-Fletchley knocked on my bedroom door and told me Professor Dumbledore suggested that I take the rest of the week off. I was quite worried about how Ron was going to respond once I saw him again. I mean, I probably wouldn't talk to someone if they tried to bite my hand off. But that's just me…

          So anyway, I stayed in my room for a week. I had everything I needed in there; a shower, a bed, clothes. The only thing missing was food, but I didn't want that anyway. (A/N: Keeping Hermione in character is really boring) It was my last day off and I started to notice subtle but odd things in my room. For example I would always leave my curtains open at night but they'd be closed in the morning. When I'd go to open them to let some light in I would suddenly remember some extra homework I had forgotten.

          Also, I was taking my daily shower when something caught my eye that almost made me scream. Right above my navel was two white-as-snow knives. Each tattoo-like blade had drops of blood not only on it, but a trail dripping right past my navel. Once again… **daily shower**. This was _not_ here yesterday.

          I scrubbed them furiously until my skin turned red. They didn't even fade. I jumped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and ran to my room. I inspected it more thoroughly only to come to the conclusion that it was permanent. This is just what I need right now…

          That night I couldn't sleep. I just sat and thought up a speech to give Ron. I had it down perfectly by the time I had to get ready. I doubt he could still be mad by the time I was done. I don't want to be conceited but… 

          So I set off to the great hall with a newfound confidence that I had lacked all week. I said the lines over and over again in my head until I reached the Gryffindor table. Once I sat down I took a deep breath of air but stopped when I looked at Ron. He had a look of utter loathing on his face. Seeing that look made me forget all the words I had planned to say. I glanced at his hand and saw the thick bandages that covered it.

          "Like it?" He glared at me as he said his sarcastic words. "It's because of you that I have this."

          "Couldn't Madame Pomfrey fix that without a problem?"

          "You should be smarter than that. Madame Pomfrey was poisoned by some nutter. The replacement nurse can't do anything."

          "Ron I'm sorry. I… I don't know what came over me."

          "As well you should be," he said crossing his arms.

          "So I'm forgiven?"

          "No! Why should I forgive you?"  
          "Because people make mistakes and that's what friends do," I said through clenched teeth. I was starting to get frustrated.

          "Uh… I gotta go…" Then he ran away from me. That does a lot to my ego.

          "You know Hermione," Neville said as he buttered a piece of toast. "You really need to control your temper. You're quite scary when you're mad."

          Then I remembered what Malfoy had said to me the other week. About my eyes. Did Ron see them? I think he did. What if he thinks something's wrong with me and if he comes near me he'll catch a disease and die a slow and torturous death? Oh bother. I've gotten myself worked up again…

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          ~*~Draco~*~

          I was sitting next to Pansy in Defense Against the Dark Arts when out of nowhere the stupid walrus moves her chair over and starts moving her hand up my thigh. Now keep in mind we were in the middle of class, the teacher was _right in front of us_ and I hate her. So naturally I did the only thing I could do. I protested her suggestion rather loudly and pushed her chair away. Did I mention she fell over and landed on her face? I was hysterical… and by that I mean that I gave my oh-so-sexy half smile.(A/N: DROOL!!!) But I was hysterical on the inside. It was too funny.

          "Mr. Malfoy." The teacher was talking to me now. What was his name… oh yes Mr. Spinne. "While that was indeed funny that was… rude." I don't think he meant it. "Either you apologize or you go sit in the back."

          Once again I did the only reasonable thing and grabbed my stuff to go into the back. The only seat left was the one next to Granger. Too right Weasel was to turn her house against her. (I love eavesdropping) She's mad. She didn't really say anything to me so I just kinda sat in silence and tried to flick little paper balls into Potter's hair.

          "You can help." Granger was speaking to me. Her voice was dramatically hushed and it didn't sound like her own.

          "What are you going on about?"

          "You know. I've seen you talking to her about it."

          "Who's her?" She turned to me, her eyes that burning red. This time they seemed desperate. I turned around in my chair to look out the window. That's when I saw them. The eyes Granger had told me she's seen before. They were staring at me from one of the bushes in the forest. They were so far away I could barley see them.

          "She won't survive." The voice made me turn around to face her.

          "OK?"

          "Watch her." With that said the red in her eyes faded and Granger just turned around and listened to the new teacher say something about symptoms of some stupid creature.

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          ~*~Hermione~*~

          I sat on my bed and brushed my now short hair. It's funny really… I don't remember my Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. I must've been wrapped up in thoughts. Not to mention Ron's still mad at me. Harry too. Why do guys do that? They get all their little friends to turn against anyone or anything that has caused them problems. I'm just lucky Ron has no friends. At least I'm tired tonight. It's pretty late but it's better than pulling another all-nighter.

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          _Hermione got up off the floor of her dad's office. She took a step forward and her body gave a lurch of pain. She walked farther a bit, struggling just to lift her foot off the ground. By the time she reached the office door her wounds were protesting any movement whatsoever. She needed sleep. She knew she was changing into one of them. It was painfully obvious._

_           She staggered out into the hallway and called out to her parents in a meek voice. No response. As she struggled she heard moaning coming from the living room. She slowly made her way past the guest room, grabbing the walls for support. Once she reached the living room she collapsed in the doorframe. Panting, she looked around and at the figure on the floor. _

_It was male. One of them. He turned his head to face her and pleaded with his eyes for help. She crawled over to him and started at him for a moment. He would be so elegant was it not for the cuts on his face and chest. There was something else. Something undistinguishable. Hermione reached for the object on him but he gasped and reached for her with a bloody hand._

_          She knew that if it stayed he would die. Just the smallest grace of her fingers on it would severely damage her as well, only for the fact that she was now tainted. He was risking his life for her. He only muttered 'Save yourself, run from here. If you return he may not be here to protect you from them.' Then is eyes shut and he was gone._

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          ~*~Hermione~*~

          When I awoke I wasn't in my bed. I wasn't even lying down. In fact, I was in the worst possible position imaginable. It was then that I realized who exactly this was and what I was doing. I, Hermione Granger, was… Straddling. Draco. Malfoy. 

          The covers were pulled up to his elbows and I had his right arm in my hand with my face dangerously close to it. I was scared to move. Just the thought of him waking up made me freeze. Just then he shifted… or tried to. It's kind of hard when you have someone on top of you. I tried to place his arm back where it belonged, which coincidently was nowhere near me. Something stopped me. It was watching me again. Telling me not to let go. The more I tried to stop myself, the harder my grip got on his wrist. I was just swinging my leg over to get off of him when he did the stupidest thing. He woke up.

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A/N: Hey everyone. Another chapter. I'm going to start the next one A.S.A.P… wow. Who says that? Well anyway do NOT expect writers block. I have everything basically all worked out. Luv Ya! On to responses!

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**4SaKEn**: Of course you can get an e-mail… obviously. Haha. I'm slow. Enjoy the rest of the story!

**XoKiera**: Yes, tests do stink. Thank you, happy early birthday to you, too. (or late… w/e) I liked that chapter to. That was the first idea I got for this story.

**Paprika90**: Thank you. Birthdays are great, aren't they? Lol. And you just read the next chapter. They question is… can you wait for chapter… what is it… 7?

**The Sisters of Chaos**: Gasp! You said ass. I take that as a compliment. You are the first reviewer EVER to use profanity of any kind for my story! Congratulations!

**Magicalferret**: I feel so special! I didn't even think anyone would like my story. And your pen name is soooo koolio! I love it!

**Sarah**: Thank you! That's the third happy birthday I got from someone I don't know. Yay! I'll try to update more. But sadly I am lazy and I don't feel like it usually. Oh well, enjoy!


	8. He Never Saw it Coming

A/N: Every time I plan on writing a chapter something happens! Like this time I got the stomach flu… stupid pancakes.

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          ~*~Draco~*~

          I woke up to an unusually strong grip on my wrist and shuffling in my bed. I was hesitant to open my eyes, fearing I would see Parkinson trying to rape me, or something along those lines. Despite my fear my eyes open only to be faced with Granger. Well at least it's better than Pansy. She stared at me for a moment. Obviously she didn't expect me to wake up during her little 'escapade.' Her face looked pained and I could tell she was trying to make herself get off of me.

          "What are you doing," I asked her with a scowl on my face. She didn't reply. "Get off of me, you filth!"

          It was then I saw those freaky eyes through my open door. They were lurking in the common room and narrowed when I stated my last fact. I looked back to Granger and she too had the red glint. I didn't say anything else for fear that both her and whatever was in the common room would decide to go on a mass massacre throughout Hogwarts. It was then that Granger brought her face to my arm and forcefully bit into it, drawing blood. Now I know that if anyone else were in this position they would've done exactly what I did: Push Granger off the bed. She landed on her back, bringing my arm down with her and forcing me to turn on my side. She looked up at me, her eyes wide as she dropped my arm to the floor.

          "I'm sorry, Malfoy!" She got up and backed away from me. "I don't know what happened!"

          "Not so fast, Granger," she stopped. I love having authority. "Weasel may accept that but I won't. Get over here and explain."

          "I did already. I told you that I don't know what happened." I sighed, got up and dragged her over to my bed.

          "Don't care. I need to talk to you about this, anyway." 

          "OK… what did you need to say?" Her look was skeptical, obviously she didn't trust me.

          "Look, you need to tell me what you know about what happened over the summer."

          "No! I don't need to tell you anything. It's none of your business."

          "Stop being difficult! This is the second time that you have tried to hack somebody's arm off with your teeth!"

          She glanced at my arm, which was still bleeding. "I don't remember much. Just that something attacked me and… well. That's it."

          "Well that helps."

"Really?" She seemed to have missed my sarcasm.

          "No." It was silent for a moment. "You know that thing is following you, right?"

          "No. I thought it just happened to be wherever I am," she replied sarcastically while throwing her hands in the air.

          "You know today in Defense Against the Dark Arts… when you kind of spazzed?"

          "I don't really remember that class. Why?"

          "Well that thing… whatever it is… It kind of possessed you I guess you could say. It told me to watch you or you won't survive."

          "Why would it want _you _to watch _me_?" 

          "Maybe it's a woman and it just wants an excuse to see me in all my sexiness."

          "I'm just gonna leave now." She said as she moved towards my door.

          "Remember, Granger, I'm working on this. I _will_ figure out what happened!"

          Some may wonder why I care so much about Granger. Well anyone that thinks that is truly, truly stupid. If you think about it, it really does make sense. I mean, that thing wants me to watch Granger. When I ignore the warning Granger comes and tries to chop my arm off as some kind of religious sacrifice. Ok, I made that last part up. But still, that was only within a few hours. Just think of all the damage she'll cause to me in a few days…

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          ~*~Hermione~*~

          The next morning at breakfast Harry and Ron sat across from me. Harry looked a little irritated and Ron just looked downright nervous. There was an awkward silence for a minute or two. Finally, Harry got mad and nudged Ron in the ribs.

          "Ron has something to say, don't you?" Harry spoke through clenched teeth. The must've been arguing about it earlier.

          "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Hermione," he said with his head bowed.

          "And?" Harry said

          "And I should've accepted your apology."

          "And?"

          "And I'm sorry for being an arse."

          "And?"

          "Uh… that's it," Ron finished with a sheepish grin.

          Harry, who seemed satisfied, turned and talked to Ginny. He obviously wanted to give us some 'alone' time.

          "Apology accepted, Ron," I gave him my best heart-felt smile, which he gladly returned.

          "Hey, Hermione?"

          "Yes, Ron?"

          "Well… me and Harry…" 

"Harry and I," I corrected automatically.

          "Right. Harry and I were having trouble on that potions essay that Snape gave out. Do you think it would be too much trouble if you could lend us yours? It's due first thing after breakfast."

          I could practically feel the steam come out of my ears. "Sure, Ron. Would you like me to do all of your homework while I'm at it?"

          "That would be great! Oi, Harry! Hermione's offered to do our other homework, too! Now I don't have to ask. Isn't that great?"

          I didn't say anything, just got up and walked out of the Great Hall without breakfast… again. I felt my eyes change again. Weird thing about that. As time goes on I become more aware of my eyes and what I do while I 'sleepwalk.' But how can they do that to me? I was always good to them! Now they go and use me like some kind of walking reference book? What's wrong with them?

          I was muttering to myself and pacing in front of the potions room, which was my first class. Eventually, I got tired of pacing and just sat with my back facing the wall. I saw the eyes emerge from a dark corner down the hall. I guess who ever they belonged to could tell I was upset, because they seemed hesitant.

          "Aren't you ever going to say anything to me?" I asked it, not really expecting it to do anything. The eyes widened for a moment then they shook from side to side, indicating that the creature behind them shook its head.

          "Well then what's the point… in following me?" No response this time. "Hmm… You saw what happened with Harry and Ron, didn't you." It nodded. "That was wrong, wasn't it? Sometimes I wish that I could just get revenge for all the times they took me for granted…" The eyes widened a bit and I could just _sense_ a smirk on the face of my stalker. "You aren't going to do anything, are you?" my voice was a little panicked. The eyes bunched up in the result of a smile that I could not see and they disappeared into the darkness. "Why did I even bother?" (A/N: I was gonna end it here before I decided that this chapter was short and kind of boring. So hear is a bonus… thing…to go along with it!) 

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          ~*~Neville~*~

          I walked down the corridor in search of Trevor. I was trying to feed him but when I opened his cage he ran away from me. Not to mention it was the middle of the night. With my luck a Slytherin would catch me out after hours and bring me to Snape. He was horrible today in potions. Not as bad as usual, though. He kept yelling at Hermione because she would wonder off and stop copying notes from the board. She did seem quite out of it. Snape just made it worse.

          Gran always told me to feed Trevor right after I ate dinner. I should start to listen to her more. If I did then maybe someone could've helped me find him. Why is it always me? Wait a minute… someone is up ahead. I'm going to be in trouble for sure now. There are now extensions in this corridor so I can only go straight. Wait… I think that's Hermione. It _IS_ Hermione. I'm saved.

          "Hermione," I called out to her, quietly at first. "It's me, Neville!"

          She looked up at me, her eyes changing color. She let out a short growl and began walking briskly toward me.

          "Hermione? What are you doing?" I began to back away from her. Her paces quickened and she was now only about ten feet away. The moonlight streaming through the windows gave me a clear view of her face, which had a look of hunger. I turned and ran the opposite way. I don't look it, but I am actually a fast runner. I got well a head of her an turned down to the Slytherin dungeons. She was just as fast as me but after a while I began to get tired. My feet pounded against the hard marble as I began to slow down. I took a glance behind me.

          Hermione wasn't even beginning to get tired. She just ran until she knocked me down. We were a few feet away from the Slytherin common room, which was better than nothing. Maybe if I screamed loud enough someone would hear me. Hermione grabbed my arm and bit down on the vein in my elbow as hard as she could. Her eyes poured into mine as I screamed, not expecting anyone to save me. It's just my luck. She was forcing the blood out of my arm and I was beginning to shake. I tried to push her away but she just pinned my other arm to the floor. I was screaming louder than I ever had in my life, and it seemed to bother her the most. Just as I was giving up I saw the Slytherin portrait open and someone's head pop into the hallway. My vision was blurring and all I remember before I passed out was Hermione getting up and running back the way she came as several stunning spells attempted to hit her.

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V/N: I'm changing it from Author's Note to Vanessa's note. A/n is over-rated. I don't know how long it'll take to update. You know… the more reviews I get the more motivation I have. It works that way….

**Sarah:** You're welcome! It's so good to know that people like my story. If you weren't confused then there would be no suspense and good plot. My writing is awesome? Hooray for me!

**YellOwcardrOck:** You should find out what happened soon. There are small hints of what's happening in every chapter… I don't think anyone noticed…

**Paprika90: **Well at least now I know that you won't go and kill yourself because of the suspense. Lol. I'll try and have the next chapter up soon… so don't worry. You won't have to suffer too long haha, j/k.

**XoKiera:** Thanks. And at least I had the desired affect. If the story had no confusion than it would be really BORING! Don't you agree?


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